New York Okinawan Karate

2016- a trendy flashback

1.1.26 Hatsu Geiko (初稽古)

First workout of the year at the NYOK dojo.
And a couple promotions to start the new year off.

Congratulations to Bryan (4th kyu) and Krystof (6th Kyu)

Thanks for sharing these stories/explanations now and always. This one is very important!

On Playfulness (or, What does karate look like?)

Recently, we posted several clips of Sensei in his home dojo playfully doing variations of nagashi and kagite uke. While mainly received positively, a handful of commentators believed that this was not actually karate. The techniques were not fast enough, the attacks weren’t powerfully executed, etc. Leaving aside that these were written by people who never trained with Sensei, this raises an important point. What does karate look like?

When Sensei came to the United States he realized that, on average, Americans were taller and stronger than Okinawans. Always eager to improve, this afforded him the opportunity to test his abilities. A result of these interactions was his development of an outwardly softer reception of power based upon structure, balance, breathing, and timing to manage the larger and stronger Americans. Of course, all karate involves these, but he refined them to a higher level than the average Okinawan karateka. One could even say to an uncanny level of effectiveness.

A side effect of this softer style was it took many to feel it in order to trust its effectiveness. It is outwardly somewhat mushy looking. Many many times challengers discounted Sensei’s approach and found themselves flabbergasted, humbled, and then enrolling as his student after a brief demonstration.

Now in regard to the previously mentioned clips, these were not intense attacks and responses. They were playful exchanges after lunch on a Wednesday at his home. And this gets to the main point. Practicing any martial art involves humans, and humans are playful- homo ludens.

Aside from preventing the injuries that regularly occur from intense training, going slowly is an essential part of developing physical skills. And playful exploration will be an integral part of this process. Sensei was in his mid-80s in these clips and he never lost his sense of wonder and enjoyment in partner work. He always said to “make friends with karate” and this is borne out of the fun we shared together. Students came and went over the years but our bonds of friendship remained and they still remain part of the dojo family even if they stopped practicing. He created a “village” of sorts and this was a result of the atmosphere of the dojo.

So if you want to only sweep the leg, order body bags, and stoke your ego we are not the dojo or association for you. But if you are like most humans who want to learn effective self defense and enjoy practicing and make new friends, then come and see.

Here Iha Sensei applies the “elbows in” minimalist efficiency he was known for.

Control the jushin (centerline balance) with nagashi

Congratulations to Robert Lilly who passed his 1st Dan (Black Belt) examination this weekend. Rob did a great job and made the dojo proud.
Major props to everyone else who passed their exam as well!

On not blocking: From an after class conversation with Sensei.

Sensei watched some of us practicing more free style techniques after class and he said to speed up, that Shorin ryu is meant to be very fast. So we sped up and it got sloppy. So we slowed down thinking we shouldn’t be sloppy. Sensei said “no, keep doing, make fast!” So we sped up and got sloppy. It was hard to block everything and it was messy. After a few minutes we were all very tired from “make more fast”, and we hit each other quite a bit more than usual in the chaotic flux.

As usual, we all sat down around Sensei, still sitting on the bench. He said it was hard for us because we tried to block the attacks. He said that in Okinawa the old teachers would say “if you had time to block you should have just punched”. We asked if that meant hitting the guy when he’s about to hit you? He said that is called “sen no sen”, and a good idea, but it isn’t what they meant by the line. He said it means to not worry about being hit but to immediately attack whatever is closest instead of blocking and close the distance without a pause. The response and attack need to be one. We observed that when we tried that we got hit a lot. He said we were too slow because we were trying to block and not get hit instead of just going in. Besides, he said, if your body is conditioned you don’t really need to block much. Then he poked hard on his body like he sometimes did and said we need to know “how to make ready”.

Then he had one of us get the bo and make a continuous figure eight. He said you can never catch the ends because it’s too fast and all the power is there, but to stop it from swinging you have to attack the center. He said karate is the same. Don’t be afraid; go in and attack the center. This led to us asking again about getting hit while going in during an attack. He again said that most people can’t make outpower anyway so being hit won’t do anything, but even so, just protect your head, assuming your body is hardened. (More body pokes and arm hitting followed to demonstrate.)

Sensei here demonstrates a kusanku sho application of a bo disarm with his cousin, Akiyoshi Shiroma Sensei.

The following is a summary of a short talk that Iha Sensei gave after one of the pretests we had together.

Proper kata, makiwara, and partner practice are at the heart of Shorin ryu. This is why each examination has three parts.

During individual kata demonstrations, one must balance between complete exhaustion and a lack of outpower. Sensei says this balance is found in your own body only if you train to complete exhaustion much of the time. He recalled that in his younger days in Okinawa he and his friends would figure out different ways to bring their bodies to the point of exhaustion. For example, they would use isometrics and see who could bring themselves to sweat first. Or they would assume various stances and push against immovable objects and see who could go longest while giving full outpower. Sometimes they would see who could break the makiwara or lift the heaviest weight. Sensei gave these examples to illustrate the point that we only grow when we put ourselves in situations where we max out on a regular basis. What weight lifter never adds weight to the bar? Kata, he says, is only kata if it is done in that spirit. It is a sprint, not a marathon.

While it’s true that at times we have to go slower to refine the technique, we must not stop there but rather understand that it is a martial technique that requires a certain balance, speed, and outpower as its end. This feeling in kata is called “ijiki”. Ijiki is this lively action that gives onlookers a sense of awe, that they can see that you are visualizing fighting when you move in kata

Ijiki combines breath control and a balanced and rotating center (jiku) through correct posture (head always over center) and lower abdominal awareness (moderate pushing out from below the belly button). This, combined with the connection of the elbows to the body, allows for outpower to come from the hips and spine and not the shoulder and tricep. This centrifugal force is called “enshin ryoku”. Punches are not pushed out: they are whipped out.

Part of kata demonstration is the kiai. If possible, it should be jarring and off setting. It is the audible manifestation of your spirit.

Partner work for a test is never about competition. After a few moves a person’s skill is very apparent. Rather, during the examination, partner work demonstrates your ability to control yourself and harmonize with your partner. This difficult ability is “kakehiki”. Sensei says it is easy to sing a solo but much harder to harmonize.

Sensei also would like to see students stick to the standard curriculum in partner work with no affectations, creative counters, etc. While those are proper for exploring on your own, the examination setting is only about the curriculum.

When students demonstrate strikes on the bag and board, distance and recoil control are important. This is only learned by doing it on a regular basis, but since students are using a bag and board that they are often unfamiliar with at hombu they should understand how heavy and stiff the objects are before they strike it.

Sensei says the ability to put your power into someone else is primarily developed by makiwara. It is your other sensei.

Some testing yesterday at NYOK.
Congratulations to Bryan and Lee for earning your 5th and 6th kyu ranks.

Come start your journey today. Classes in Tribeca and midtown.

A look back at some training with friends and students from the year. Looking forward to ringing in the new year on a positive note.

1 - training in Lansing with the Hombu dojo group (led by Sensei Joe Kalikow, 9th Dan)
2, 5, 7 - NYOK class with students and visitors in Manhattan
3 - after class dinner with the Shoha dojo in MI
4 - Fair Lawn Dojo Shibu-Cho directors at NTS
6 - Sensei Iha’s Gojushiho seminar participants in Fair Lawn dojo
8 - Sensei Pizza and Rob Lilly with Sensei Snader at NTS
9 - 30th anniversary for Grand River Karate in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
10 - Beikoku National Training Seminar (NTS)